Superman: The Animated Series (TV Series)

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Superman: The Animated Series
Image showing Superman
Genre	Superhero fiction Superhero fiction Drama
Created by	Superman  by Jerry Siegel
Developed by	Alan Burnett Paul Dini
Voices of	Tim Daly Dana Delany Clancy Brown
Theme music composer	Shirley Walker
Composer(s)	Kristopher Carter Michael McCuistion Lolita Ritmanis Shirley Walker Harvey Cohen
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	54 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	21 minutes
Production company(s)	Warner Bros. Animation
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Broadcast
Original network	Kids' WB
Original release	September 6, 1996 – February 12, 2000
Chronology
Preceded by	Batman: The Animated Series
Related shows	The New Batman/Superman Adventures Superman (1980s)

Superman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics's flagship character, Superman. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and originally aired on Kids' WB from September 6, 1996 to February 12, 2000. The series was the first of several followups of the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, and was equally praised for its thematic complexity, quality animation, maturity and modernization of its title character.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Development and production 3 Comic adaptation 4 Episodes 5 Series overview 6 Episodes 6.1 Season 1 (1996–97) 6.2 Season 2 (1997–98) 6.3 Season 3 (1998–2000) 7 Crossovers 8 References 9 Cast 9.1 Other characters 10 DVD releases 10.1 Deleted scene in DVD release 11 Music 11.1 Track listing 12 Video games 13 Awards and nominations 14 References 15 External links

[edit] Overview

[edit] Development and production

[edit] Comic adaptation

Main article: Superman Adventures

As with the majority of shows in DC animated universe, Superman: The Animated Series received a comic adaptation taking place in the same universe, that ran from 1996 to 2001, with 68 issues, an annual and a special issue featuring Lobo. Paul Dini wrote the first issue of the series, followed by Scott McDaniel, Mark Millar and Evan Dorkin. Among the artists that contrinuited with the series are Ty Templeton, Rick Burchett, Mike Manley, Aluir Amancio, Min S.Ku and Neil Vokes.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Superman: The Animated Series episodes

Superman: The Animated Series is an American television series based on the DC Comics superhero Superman, which was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and originally aired on The WB from 1996 to 2000; lasting 54 episodes.

The series is part of what has become known as the DC animated universe and was the first after the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series.

[edit] Series overview

<onlyinclude>{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 110%; " |- ! scope="col" style="padding: 0 8px;" colspan="2" rowspan="2" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"| Season ! scope="col" style="padding: 0 8px;" rowspan="2" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"| Episodes ! bgcolor="#e3e3e3" colspan="2" | Originally aired |- ! bgcolor="#e3e3e3" | First aired ! bgcolor="#e3e3e3" | Last aired |- align="center" | style="background:#2950BB;" | |1 |13 |September 6, 1996 |February 15, 1997 |- align="center" | style="background:#A62A2A;" | |2 |28 |September 8, 1997 |May 2, 1998 |- align="center" | style="background:#14663D;" | |3 |13 |September 19, 1998 |February 12, 2000 |}

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season 1 (1996–97)

All episodes of season one except the first five and last two were shown out of production order when originally aired.

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Villain	Director	Writer	Airdate
1	1	"The Last Son of Krypton, Part 1"	Brainiac	Dan Riba	Alan Burnett & Paul Dini	September 6, 1996
The Kryptonian scientist Jor-El is collecting data from an ice field on the planet Krypton. After obtaining the samples he needs, Jor-El escapes an earthquake and an attack from a Kryptonian creature. Jor-el analyzes the data and discovers that rising pressure from Krypton’s core will eventually destroy the planet. The computer Brainiac, which is in charge of monitoring all major operations on Krypton, denies this. Jor-El is unable to convince Krypton’s rulers of the planet’s impending doom, and his recommendation to transport all Kryptonians to the Phantom Zone to escape the explosion proves unpopular. When Jor-El confronts Brainiac on the matter, he notices that it is downloading all the data it has collected about Krypton, preparing to flee with it into space. Brainiac reveals that he was aware of Krypton’s mounting pressure long before Jor-El did, but decided not to inform the populace, concluding that saving all the information about the Kryptonian civilization would be just as good as saving the civilization itself. If Brainiac were to be honest, the Kryptonian government would frantically put it to work on an evacuation plan, preventing it from downloading the data in time. Jor-El considers opening fire on the supercomputer, but decides against it as that could possibly wipe out all memories of Krypton. Brainiac orders the Kryptonian police to arrest Jor-El, but he manages to evade them for the time being. Once home, he and his wife Lara send their only son, Kal-El, into space moments before the planet explodes, all but wiping out the Kryptonian race. Brainiac had escaped to its satellite just before. Trivia: Late actor Tony Jay who played Nigel St. John on ABC Television Network's action/romance Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, voiced Sul-Van, Superman's maternal grandfather.
2	2	"The Last Son of Krypton, Part 2"		Scott Jeralds & Curt Geda	Alan Burnett & Paul Dini	September 6, 1996
Kal-El’s spaceship crash-lands on the faraway planet Earth, and he is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent. Martha decides to adopt the baby boy despite Jonathan’s protests, and names him Clark. Jumping forward to Clark’s years in high school, he discovers that he has extraordinary speed, strength, and can even see through walls. He uses his super powers to rescue a family in a gas station accident, and his girlfriend Lana Lang is surprised that he emerged unscathed. Clark soon learns he also has heat vision, and after demonstrating to Jonathan that he can melt metal with his eyes, he expresses concern about how abnormal he is. Jonathan realizes it is time to tell Clark the whole truth. He reveals Clark’s extraterrestrial origins, shows him the spaceship, and gives him access to a recorded message from Jor-El and Lara.
3	3	"The Last Son of Krypton, Part 3"	Lex Luthor & John Corben	Bruce Timm & Dan Riba	Alan Burnett & Paul Dini	September 6, 1996
Jumping forward a few years, Clark is now living in Metropolis as a reporter for The Daily Planet. Billionaire Lex Luthor is giving a demonstration of LexCorp’s latest robotic battle suit when it is suddenly stolen by terrorists. A super man, sporting blue tights and a red cape, emerges from nowhere to stop two of the terrorists. The third terrorist fires a missile at a plane, forcing Superman to abandon the chase to save the plane from crashing in the city. Soon, reports of the strange new superhero start appearing on the news, and Perry White tells Lois Lane to land an interview. Meanwhile, the terrorist who escaped, John Corben, is using the battle suit to wreak havoc throughout the city. After a tough battle, Superman manages to defeat the suit and take Corben out of the armor, ending with the well-known line “Shall we go a few rounds without the suit?” Meanwhile, out in deep space, some extraterrestrials retrieve the Brainiac satellite. Brainiac kills the aliens and takes over the ship, linking himself online with their computer. Trivia: This is the first three part episode of the series.
4	4	"Fun and Games"	Toyman & Bruno Mannheim	Kazuhide Tomonaga	Robert N. Skir & Marty Isenberg	September 7, 1996
Gangster Bruno Mannheim is running into problems with the mysterious Toyman, who uses children's toys and games to cause violence. After being abducted by Toyman, Lois learns his motivation -- his father had taken a loan from Mannheim and been set up to take the fall when the police busted one of Mannheim's criminal enterprises.
5	5	"A Little Piece of Home"	Lex Luthor	Toshihiko Masuda	Hilary J. Bader	September 14, 1996
During the opening of a museum, Superman tries to stop two robbers. He fails when he falls victim to the poisoning effects of Kryptonite, one of the exhibited rocks. Lex Luthor sees the surveillance tape of the event and determines that this must be Superman’s one and only weakness. Luthor orchestrates a scheme to trap Superman, place him in vicinity of the rock, and put an end to him once and for all.
6	6	"Feeding Time"	Parasite	Dan Riba	Robert Goodman	September 21, 1996
Janitor Rudy Jones runs into an accident with nuclear waste and becomes Parasite. He feeds on the energy of others, with his number one choice being Superman. In doing so, he discovers Superman's identity.
7	7	"The Way of All Flesh"	Lex Luthor & Metallo	Kenji Hachizaki	Stan Berkowitz	October 19, 1996
Thanks to the orchestrations of Luthor, terrorist John Corben becomes Metallo, a skin-covered cyborg with a Kryptonite heart. Luthor then sets the supervillain on a quest to kill Superman, but Corben begins to question his role as Metallo when he lacks any human senses in the progress.
8	8	"Stolen Memories"	Lex Luthor & Brainiac	Curt Geda	Rich Fogel	November 2, 1996
Brainiac, once Krypton's all-knowing planetary computer, comes to Earth as part of his information-gathering trek across the galaxy, and partners with Lex Luthor on the basis of giving technological progress to humanity. But, as Superman discovers, Brainiac's intent after gathering the world's knowledge is to destroy Earth.
9	9	"The Main Man, Part 1"	The Preserver	Dan Riba	Paul Dini	November 9, 1996
Intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo is employed to capture the Man of Steel for the rare-species-collecting Preserver, who is obsessed with keeping endangered species in captivity to protect them and prevent their extinction. Superman, the last Kryptonian, is the latest catch for his collection. Upon realizing that Lobo is the last Czarnian (having killed all the others himself), he betrays the bounty hunter and adds him to the collection as well. Trivia: Sherman Howard, who portrayed Lex Luthor on the television series Superboy, appears as the Preserver.
10	10	"The Main Man, Part 2"	The Preserver	Dan Riba	Paul Dini	November 16, 1996
Superman and Lobo team up to escape the Preserver’s holdings. Additionally, they must fight off a vile band of competing bounty hunters who share a vendetta against the “Main Man.”
11	11	"My Girl"	Lex Luthor	Yuichiro Yano	Hilary J. Bader	November 23, 1996
Clark's high school sweetheart Lana Lang, who is now a famous fashion designer, comes to Metropolis where she and Lex Luthor become a celebrity couple. Lana still has strong feelings for Clark, so she decides to put her own life in danger by spying on Luthor’s arms sales to gain incriminating information.
12	12	"Tools of the Trade"	Bruno Mannheim, Kanto & Darkseid	Curt Geda	Mark Evanier	February 1, 1997
Bruno Mannheim's Intergang terrorizes Metropolis with hi-tech weapons from a mysterious backer (Darkseid's minon Kanto), while SCU Inspector Dan Turpin goes on a personal hunt for answers. Turpin has been the subject of media jokes that Superman must do everything, until Superman appears on camera saying it was actually Turpin who saved Superman's life by stopping one of the deadly weapons. In the end, Manheim meets his new boss, the evil lord Darkseid, bent on conquering the universe, and filling Mannheim with dread.
13	13	"Two's a Crowd"	Earl Garver & Parasite	Hiroyuki Aoyama	Stan Berkowitz	February 15, 1997
When embittered scientist Earl Garver goes into a coma before revealing the location of a ticking bomb, Superman risks enlisting the Parasite to drain the information from Garver's mind. It then becomes an internal struggle in Parasite's mind as Earl tries to tempt Parasite with visions of power, whereas Rudy Jones argues that it is simply best to defuse the bomb and accept the reward of better living conditions while serving his prison sentence.

[edit] Season 2 (1997–98)

Episodes of season two originally aired Saturday mornings prior to The New Batman/Superman Adventures.

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Villain	Director	Writer	Airdate
16	3	"The Prometheon"	The Prometheon	Nobuo Tomizawa	Stan Berkowitz & Alan Burnett	September 12, 1997
During a mission in space, Superman discovers a massive humanoid stone giant named the Prometheon latched to an asteroid. Prometheon’s restraints break loose and he plummets to Metropolis. It causes devastation and accumulates energy by sucking up heat from firepower and power plants. The episode is named after Prometheus, who stole fire from the Greek gods.

[edit] Season 3 (1998–2000)

Episodes of season three originally aired in the Kids WB! block of The New Batman/Superman Adventures.

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Villain	Director	Writer	Airdate

[edit] Crossovers

Main articles: List of The New Batman Adventures episodes and List of Static Shock episodes

#	S	Title	Director	Writer	Series	Airdate

[edit] References

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[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
Tim Daly	Clark Joseph Kent / Superman / Kal-El / Bizarro
Dana Delany	Lois Lane
David Kaufman	James "Jimmy" Olsen
Clancy Brown	Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor
Corey Burton	Brainiac
Michael Ironside	Darkseid
Joseph Bologna	SCU Lt. Daniel "Terrible" Turpin
George Dzundza	Perry White
Lisa Edelstein	Mercy Graves
Lauren Tom	Angela Chen
Mike Farrell	Jonathan Kent
Shelley Fabares	Martha Kent
Joely Fisher	Lana Lang
Victor Brandt	Professor Emil Hamilton
Joanna Cassidy	Inspector Maggie Sawyer

[edit] Other characters

[edit] DVD releases

Much like Batman: The Animated Series and other Warner Bros. cartoons adapted from popular DC Comic books, Superman: The Animated Series was released on DVD January 25, 2005, though it did not receive the same disc transfer as Batman did (the second disc of each volume was given the Side A/B treatment). The DVDs present the series' episodes in their airing order along with special features. Volume Two was released on December 6, 2005 and Volume Three was released on June 20, 2006. On November 24, 2009, Warner Home Video released Superman: The Complete Animated Series, a 7-disc boxed set that includes all 54 episodes of the series as well as extensive bonus features.

A Direct-To-DVD feature, Superman: Brainiac Attacks was released in 2006, although it is not considered to be part of DCAU continuity, despite featuring the same character designs as Superman: The Animated Series, as well as both Tim Daly and Dana Delany reprising their voice roles as Superman and Lois Lane, respectively.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date	Additional Information

[edit] Deleted scene in DVD release

[edit] Music

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Video games

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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